X Men: Academy of Shards
by Evelyn Grayson
Summary: "We gather, because together we are strong. We fight, because in ideals we are just. We die, because as martyrs we're immortal." When human/mutant tensions rise, Xavier calls Generation X into the fold to fight a losing war. Jubilee-centric. Jubes/Wolvie


Disclaimer: I do not own any copyrighted characters or places. This is a non-profit piece of fandom.

A/N: This story takes place in a future that the comics were leading to back before Generation X suffered casualties and was disbanded. I know that the current X-Men story line is far different, but as a work of fanfiction, I think I can take a little creative license here.

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><p>X-MEN: ACADEMY OF SHARDS<p>

Chapter 1: Homeward Bound

March 21, 20XX - 10.30 EST

Logan's Mind-scape

The lights pulsed and strobed in a slow lulling fashion high above the grand chamber and the nightingale floors of the Sanctuary. Their shimmer rained down the cavernous walls with a gliding viscosity that never would have been possible outside of the Mind-scape. In the center of the room Wolverine sat prostrate, garbed in the robes of a loyal knight, before the tall, standing form of Professor Charles Xavier. To one end of the long hall, a single sliding shōji door sat open, a harsh white light flooding in from it and casting his back and the Professor's face in stark shadows. Towards the other end, three shōji doors were sealed shut casting an ominous faint glow of fearsome red into the darkness at that end of the hall. The shine reflected fiercely in Logan's eyes as he stared straight at the X-Men's benefactor never wilting or falling away from the man's equal determination.

"This is your choice, my friend. I can only advise you. However, you should know the consequences of this decision, and the actions that will follow it," Xavier consoled softly. "It has been long in coming and the end will be hard no matter what you choose."

Wolverine sat quiet as the paper-thin walls of the hall trembled in the raging winds of his mind. His face was impassive and posture calm but he couldn't hide from his turmoil in this place anymore than he could fool Xavier. A heaving sigh slipped from his adamantium laced frame and the winds of his thoughts quieted. "I still got time? It's not too late yet?"

"There is still time, but it is quickly slipping away. You must decide or I feel that the decision will be stolen from you."

"Then I still got time. Gimme some time." The single shōji door at the far end of the hall slammed shut and the Professor vanished just as suddenly leaving the room softly glowing from the raining light.

Logan stood quietly from his kneeling and stretched his mental arms, so to speak. With a thought and a brief glance Wolverine cracked open the first of the three red shōji panels. Grief poured out of the slit. A woman's cries seeped through and an overwhelming need for vengeance filled him before he was able to separate what lie behind this door from himself. Wolverine felt the need to change it all well up in his stomach. This was the Past, after all, and the Past was always full of regrets. With a gruff snarl, the screen slammed shut. The Past was a tricky thing. It was fond and cherished, and yet one could be trapped there so easily, he knew. His road out had been long.

The next door creaked open as he continued to assemble his thoughts. This path, for all of its foreboding exterior, held no real pull over Logan anymore. The Present was a place that passed as quickly as you acknowledged it. Once, in the Past, he used to agonize over the Present and its moments that were so quickly lost, but the Present was a docile place in his mind now. A small smile curled the corner of Wolverine's lips as he mentally drew the recent door shut and placed his pondering in the Past.

The final shōji panel pulsed, wanting to be inspected and explored. The Future was a greedy thing, never willing to grant any time to the Past or the Present, forever dragging one on into it. Logan stared unsure at it. The Past was painful, certainly, and he didn't live in that world anymore. However, it was familiar. Wolverine knew it inside and out while this, the Future, was a terrifying thing. The choice was there, clear as day beyond that door. All he had to do was part the screens to glimpse it, and yet Logan was uncertain exactly what the Future held for him, and whether whatever dreams being entertained in that place were any good for anyone. His mind had dallied too long, however, and the shōji door slid open. Brilliant blue shone at him from behind the pulsing red of his will. Wolverine spun from it and walked steadily away from the Future, ignoring that beautiful blue.

During his final moments in the Mind-scape, Logan stopped, one hand resting on the single shōji door that sealed his mind, and turned back to match his gaze with that innocent blue still peaking out of the Future. "I still got time, right?" He slid open the panel and left his own mind, shutting it firmly behind him but leaving that one door to the Future cracked open to the Sanctuary.

March 22, 20XX - 07.00 EST

X-Mansion, Xavier's Office

Professor Xavier sat in his office, his chair facing out into the courtyard of the estates. Too much time had passed since the last addition to his X-Men and, while the current induction was not for the best of reasons, he could not hold at bay the joy of having new faces on the expansive lands. When he had placed a call to the White Queen at the Massachusetts Academy, Xavier had expected the protest he received from both she and the Banshee. Emma, however, could not fault him his request. Her mutant program was an offshoot of his and she trained her students for their eventual addition to the active X-Men roster. Their placement was long overdue. It would only be a few moments more before he would be facing these new untested recruits, as Scott should be returning shortly on the Blackbird with the Generation X team in tow. Charles wheeled himself into the main foyer and quietly let himself into the elevator.

So enthralled in his thoughts, he did not notice Wolverine enter quietly behind him until Logan's gruff voice called out. "I hear we got fresh meat."

Charles' gaze rose to Logan. "Some new and some not so new."

Silence reigned between the two for a moment. "I must speak with you candidly, Logan. I trust that these new X-Men will be welcomed as much as can be expected by you. You will be responsible for the successful inclusion into the roster, after all."

"Look, Chuck. I'll be good... Mostly. The way I see it, a little heckling is good for the spirit."

Charles smiled indulgently at the man. "I'm excited to see the return of Jubilee to the mansion as well. Her vibrancy has been much missed."

"Lee? Yah, it'll be good to have her home where she belongs." Logan leaned back against the side wall of the elevator car.

Silence again floated between them until the elevator slid open allowing access to the manor's underbelly. "Show time." Logan spoke the words quietly and resolutely, almost like a prayer, before slipping off the lift and across the basement into the hanger. With a single lingering glance at the place Wolverine had abandoned beside him, Xavier smiled, shook his head, and followed the older man.

He could hear the telltale sound of the Blackbird's engines powering down as he entered the hangar after Logan. The Blackbird sat going through its cool-down sequence in the center of the hanger. The gangway had already dropped and Cyclops stood at the top of it looking more than a little exasperated. Coming up slowly from behind him was a young man of indeterminate ethnicity who had gray unhealthy skin pooling almost fluidly around his wrists and ankles. The short sleeve shirt and board shorts he wore to accommodate the unusually warm weather did nothing to accommodate his mutation. The man wore a smile that Wolverine could only describe as "shit-eating." Scott eyed him warily, uncertain of the man. "Well, that was... fun... Welcome to Xavier's Institute." The natural-born leader, Cyclops' words were crisp and calming, and, as always, carefully chosen.

The man shrugged a little and the skin in his shoulder seemed to roll down the length of his arm to join the knot of it gathered at his wrist. "Yeah, well... Not everyone can handle it, hombre. Still, you give me a chance; I'll show you how to really fly a bird." The man's voice was tinged with a Hispanic accent common to native speakers. "It won't kill you, eh?"

"It might," was the leader of the X-Men's truncated reply.

Scott was saved from any further conversation with the gray-skinned man when he toppled from the ship, landing harshly next to a pile of matching red luggage duffels. A man and woman now stood side by side where he had been standing. The woman was classically beautiful, all blonde hair and blue eyes. While she was not over endowed, she still made quite the figure. Her companion was a different matter. He stood tall and straight with a cloth of some unidentifiable material covering the lower half of his face. The man's hand was outstretched, a sure sign that he had been Cyclops' rescuer.

"You'll hafta excuse him. He doesn't really know when ta stop. I'm really sorry," the woman spoke up. Her voice was honey sweet, definitely southern, however, it was soft and gentle as though it had been dulled by time away from home. She had the good sense to look abashed enough for both her companion and the man now pulling himself together on the floor.

Cyclops nodded at the Southern girl acceptingly as she led her companion down the gangway to stand alongside the gray man who was working to assemble the fleshy folds of his skin back around his wrists. As he looked back into the belly of the plane, a tall woman appeared beside him shaking her long black locks, seeming a bit harried. From behind her, another man slipped past her and down the gangway, not even stopping to address the Blackbird's pilot. His eyes glinted in a fashion that screamed do not mess. The woman, breathtaking as she was, seemed completely unconcerned with everything going on around her. Scott nudged her on down the gangway and she looked at him a little peevishly before progressing down as well.

Silence stretched for a moment, Cyclops looking back into the passenger compartment of the Blackbird and all the people gathered at the base of the gangway waiting expectantly for something. Then a small hand appeared on the edge of the Blackbird's hatch. Slowly, Jubilee emerged from the darkness of the plane and into the brightness of the hanger. Only, this was not the petite girl Xavier had been expecting. Gone were the long yellow rain coat and the bright pink sunglasses and no longer was her hair cropped short in that daring pixie cut. Realistically, Charles had expected her to change. This, however, had been beyond his range of possibilities. Standing beside Scott now was a woman, hair long, tracing the bottom of her shoulder blades, the upper layers pulled into a middle ponytail and the under layers left hanging free with soft bangs framing her face. Though the style gave her a sort of young innocence it paradoxically lent credibility to her age. Her blue eyes were devoid of make-up for what must have been the first time in all the years that Xavier had known her. A soft reminiscent smile graced her face as she conversed lowly with the long-time leader of the X-Men at the top of the gangplank. With a hand reaching out to rest on his arm, both Jubilee and Cyclops descended the gangway to the hanger floor together.

Xavier took this as his signal to address the gathered crowd. He situated himself fully in front of the small assemblage of young mutants. They all turned to glance at him with varying degrees of interest. "Welcome, students. The path here has been long and full of peril, I know. You have given more than any could rightfully ask of you. Lives have been lost and opportunities wasted. Know, however, that you have not given these things in vain. As of this moment, you are X-Men, preservers of peace. We stand, together strong, against the tyranny of humans and mutants alike. I wish that this occasion could be a happier one. Alas, there is a war to be won and not much time to prepare for the next battle. Take this chance to settle into the Institute and get to know your fellow X-Men, for their bonds of loyalty will sustain you through the coming trials."

As Charles was speaking, Jean entered the expansive hanger of the X-Men Basement. Her eyes quickly scanned over the assembled group before alighting on Jubilee as she came to stand beside Xavier.

"Greetings," she spoke, "I'm the Phoenix, or, more personably, you can call me Jean." She nodded at Cyclops who excused himself, and together he and Charles left the hanger. "I'll get you all settled, alright?"

March 22, 20XX - 07.25 EST

X-Mansion, Hanger

Jean finished detailing the floor layout to the new X-Men while Jubilee scanned the hanger, her eyes coming back time and again to rest on Logan who had not moved since she had exited the Blackbird. She was pretty sure that he had caught her looking by this point, but what the heck. A girl was allowed to look; it was just the touching that was off limits.

Angelo nudged her side a bit harshly before cocking his head towards the front of the hangar. "Huh? What?" Jubilee was fairly certain she had missed something, because the redheaded psychic was looking at her with that same old expectant look about her that the girl remembered from years of private tutoring.

"I said, Jubilee, that, if you wanted, you could show the men to their rooms. Your room is on that side of the building after all." Jean supplied in that gentle tone that had always rubbed the rebel in Jubilee a bit raw. It took her a moment to fully process what the woman standing before them had said amidst the broiling of old emotions in her gut.

"Dude, awesome!" She grinned brightly at Jean, an honest to goodness genuine smile. Yeah, kids, don't be shocked. "Sure, I can totally take care of that."

Jean nodded acceptingly before holding out a slip of paper for the firecracker to take. Oh, great. Jubilee to the front of the class. Jubilee warily made her way out of the crowd and towards the Phoenix. It's not as if she didn't like Jean, but, man, she just didn't like Jean. She was ultra aware of the eyes of her Generation X teammates following her as well as a pair of eyes that felt suspiciously like Logan, if she had to hazard a guess. With a firm grasp, she took the paper from the redhead before Jean excused herself from the room, leading a nonchalant Monet and a hesitant Paige with her.

The slightly hyperactive girl spun round to face the rest of the group before glancing down at the paper. Whooh. The floor layout and numbering system hadn't changed. A small favor. "Alright, X-Boys. Follow me." Before she could follow in Jean's tracks, a chuckle escaped the thus far ignored Logan. Four sets of eyes fixed on him. Jubilee knew the guys would be lying if they said they weren't the slightest bit intimidated. After all, this was the flipping Wolverine. If you were smart, you were intimidated. It was a matter of principle.

"You just gonna take that?" He asked brusquely of the X-Boys as he walked up to stand beside Jubilee who was growing more and more nervous. "Are y'all posing as some kinda mutant boy band?"

Jubilee, comforted beyond words by Logan's weird display of testosterone fell into stride with the old song and dance. "Oh please, they'd flunk out of boy band camp."

"That'd be a yes, then."

The boys shifted uncomfortably at the familiarity she was expressing with Logan. "Regardless, boys. I do believe I've gotta get you in your rooms before I can get to mine."

'Ever the pragmatist,' the telepathic voice of Englishman Jono rung through the minds of the gathered people.

"Telepath?" Logan questioned with a hint of menace.

"He's harmless. It's Monet you gotta keep an eye on." Jubilee answered.

Not really knowing, but apparently satisfied with Jubilee's answer Logan motioned for her to lead on. Alrighty, then.

March 22, 20XX - 07.35 EST

X-Mansion, Third Floor

The third floor was an expansive maze of hallways and rooms for the general use of the X-Men. On a whole, the floor could be divided into three sections, men's dormitories to the east of the grand staircase, women's dorms to the west, and, centering above the grand staircase, the suites that Xavier allotted to married couples, of which only Jean and Scott currently fit the description. Each group of dorms had a set of shared baths and restrooms assigned to its specific quarters, which all members of the quarters were expected to share.

Jubilee was leading her current hodgepodge group of Skin, Chamber, Synch, and Wolverine down the main hallway and into the immediate Blue Quarter. From the Blue Quarter you could then divert into one of three other quarters, Gold, Violet, or Red. Chamber had been given room 32-B, so that is the second room in the Blue Quarter of the third floor. She slowed by the room and rapped her knuckles against the door. You never could be sure if you were going to be rooming with someone, after all.

It was a quick moment before the door opened swiftly. Behind the door stood, well, someone the Chinese-American didn't know. The man shifted his position as he eyed the people gathered before him. Jubilee, of course, was aware she should be saying something, but the words were failing to come to mind, let alone leave her mouth.

"How ya doin', Jamie?" Logan to the rescue.

"Uh, Wolverine? I... I, I'm good... And you?" Jamie seemed a little shaken by Wolverine's presence, smart kid. He didn't appear that much younger than Jubilee and the boys, which would be nice for Jono.

"I'm good. Look, this is Jubilee, I'm sure ya heard about her." Logan supplied, efficiently handing the reins of the conversation over.

With a silent thank you to God for the good grace that is Logan, Jubilee finally asserted herself. She just hadn't been expecting someone she wouldn't know. In her mind, the Institute had been a place that didn't change, ya know. "Jamie, was it? I'm Jubilation Lee, or Jubilee, or whatever, and these guys are the rest of the new add-ons to the X-Men. I don't know if the Prof told you about us or not, but I would totally hope he did, considering the circumstances. Either way, it is my proud honor to introduce you to Jono, your brand spanking new roommate!"

Jamie looked more than a little confused, as he tried to absorb what he'd just been told, and Jono, for his part, looked more than a little miffed with the situation. Jubilee smiled brightly at them both before spinning around and pushing Ev and Angelo down the hallway. Jono'd be all right.

Everett was glancing back over his shoulder at the two men standing outside room 32-B who were eyeing each other in the pre-dorm-buddy fashion. "I didn't know we were expected to room with others."

"Yeah, well... When you've got this many people under one roof, you're expected to double up." Jubilee waved off his concern.

The rest of the meet and greets continued in a similar fashion with Everett being roomed with a seemingly well off Barbie's Ken sort of guy apply named, well, Ken, and Angelo being dumped on some sap by the name of Daniel, poor soul.

Jubilee sighed robustly as she turned the corner hastily, fleeing poor Daniel as he tried to come to grips with his new nightmare. Her Wolverine tail kept right up with her.

"So, you just gonna follow me around all day, Mean-and-Scary?" She asked, glancing over her shoulder at him.

He smirked and pulled up beside her as they made their way towards the Gold Quarter against the outer wall of the mansion. "Not appreciating the shadow?"

"Hardly. Least a big guy like you could do is offer to carry a lady's bags, jeesh." As Logan went to retrieve the large duffel slung across Jubilee's shoulder she continued. "Speaking of mean and scary, when did you become the people person? One of those guys, maybe, but you pegged all three." The pyrokinetic girl knew she was doing that thing where she talked a lot and Wolverine clammed up a lot, but couldn't find it in her to care at the moment.

Imagine her surprise when Logan responded, "Well, I gotta be responsible for trainin' and stuff now. You find people listen better if you call 'em the right thing now and then."

She turned on him, eyes wide, and he had the good grace to at least look affronted although Jubilee was sure he was laughing at her on the inside. She shook herself out of it as they approached a pair of shut doors on the edge of the building.

One was Wolverine's room, had been since the guy had turned up here at Xavier's who knows how long ago. No matter what else changed or how many new X-Men there were, Jubilee was certain that this would always be Logan's room. The other was empty. A long time ago, it had been her room. She had fought, kicked, and screamed for this room, against all of the Professor's wishes but in the end the resident wild man had owned up for her and helped her move her stuff in. All of her time away and this place still felt like home.

Jubilee opened the door to look in at the room. A single window on the external wall of the mansion gave a good view out to the large lake on the eastern portion of Xavier's property and in the mornings light filtered in through it in a way that would never fail to strike Jubilee right in the eyes. When she'd been a girl, she'd hung bright orange curtains on that window that had made the room glow like a fire in the mornings. Back then, the walls had been covered in posters of boy bands and the latest idols, but now the original pale lilac wallpaper was the only thing gracing the walls. The plush beds typical of the Institute had been substituted here for a sturdier frame and a more resilient mattress. Rough housing was a full contact sport with Jubilee, and it often resulted in property damage. The bed had only been one of a long line of casualties. The desk on the far side looked to have been refurbished since she was last here, but the pyrokinetic was willing to bet anything that the silent wish list she'd scrawled on the bottom of the second drawer on her thirteenth birthday was still there. A single door was inside leading to the en-suite bathroom that her room shared with Wolverine's. Ah, the blessings of the Gold Quarter.

Logan let her enter first before hedging around her to place her duffel on the midnight blue comforter. With a delicate plop, Jubilee found herself resting squarely in the middle of the bed. Normally, Wolverine would have taken a seat on the side of the bed by now, but for some reason he remained standing beside her. She eyed him warily.

"Something the matter, Wolvie?"

He only shifted a little uncomfortably before her. This was new. Logan being the nervous one? He exhaled softly then spoke. "Look, darlin'... I was wonderin' if you..." He ran a grizzled hand over his face roughly. "You wanna grab a bite at Henry's tonight? Ya know, catch up?"

Jubilee looked at him, her gaze askew. "Yeah, uh, sure. Sounds great. But... What's got you so worried? I mean, come on, it's not like I'ma spaz over Henry's."

"Henry's is a tough place, an' yer a lady. The boys'll think yer fresh."

"The boys'll get an eyeful of paff."

"Good ta know."

March 22, 20XX - 12.07 EST

X-Mansion, Main Kitchen

Jubilee found herself standing alone amongst the crowd of students around lunchtime when she had wandered down to the large kitchen within the Institute. She could feel their curious eyes on her, and, honestly, who could blame them. Any kind of info on 'Professor Lee' would be worth gold in the student circles. More than anything, the pyrokinetic found herself amazed at the sheer number of students who still dwelled in the Institute. A surge of resentment found its way into her chest. It was perfectly okay for these kids to be here, but Jubilee had had to go, huh? Just as quickly, the feeling died, however. She asked to be transferred to the Massachusetts Academy, after all. She had needed the time away.

The whispering of the students was a dull roar filling the kitchen, and the woman made a mental note never to make her way here during the students lunch break ever again. She shuffled past a strangely feathered boy and wormed past a scaled girl before settling down in the main foyer just opposite a group of gathered students. As she watched the students communicate and plot with each other she couldn't help but feel a certain fondness for the whole debacle growing in her chest. It wasn't hard at all for Jubilee to imagine herself four, five, fifteen years on down the line still doing this exact same thing. Being an X-Man was all she'd ever wanted since Logan had dragged her back to the Institute after their meeting in the Outback.

Paige settled in next to her holding a plate of hastily grabbed grub. Her eyes were wide with a look of awe as they scanned endlessly over the foyer. Jubilee knew that the whole shebang was a lot to take in but she had faith that of all of the Generation X-ers, Paige would be the most adept at dealing with it. For the moment, the two sat in contemplative silence. The kind of silence that came from a ceaseless amount of time spent around one another. As Paige's former roommate, the Chinese-American had learned when to speak and when to just lay back and watch.

Husk quietly sat her fork down on her plate and turned her attention to Jubilee. "Teachers..." The word seemed breathless, as if the mere thought of it scared Paige shitless. Come to think of it, it probably did. "They want us to be teachers." She shook her head a little then glanced back at the pyrokinetic. "I don't know if I signed up for this."

Jubilee nodded sagely. "Try not to worry too much on it P. It's like this; the Prof wouldn't have put you in a spot you couldn't handle." Jubilee's finger came up and traced a small circle in the air. "I bet you anything that Espinosa is a lawn hand."

Paige covered a raw smile with her palm. "Was that some sort of messed up Mexican joke?"

With a chuckle, Jubilee disregarded it. "No, no. I just mean, I can't imagine Angelo bein' any good with kids. So, I'm sure the Prof wouldn't have put him in the position. You, on the other hand, are amazing with kids. You were born to be a teach, whether you know it or not. On top o' that, you'll be amazing at it."

Paige nodded in silent acceptance, knowing better than to fight the smaller girl on the matter. "They want me to teach horticulture. Apparently, I'll be working alongside Miss Munroe... Taking the younger classes."

The pyrokinetic nodded back. "That seems to be how they have it divided out. Don't worry, Ororo's a doll. I'm doing chemistry alongside the Hankster, that is... Doctor McCoy." She smiled as she glanced out at the kids. "When I was younger, I remember Hank really pushing me to study science and not just run around and be a wild girl. He had a hella time convincing me that his science could be as fun as Wolvie... It's fitting that now I'd be working with him."

Paige's face had held a soft smile during the entirety of Jubilee's speech. "You seem really comfortable here. I can't imagine why you ever left."

"Yeah, well..."

A bell chimed in the upper reaches of the manor and all of the children made towards the classrooms situated on the first and second floors. Jubilee stood, pulling Paige with her, and pushed towards the exit to the outer garden. The two of them passed into the calm sheltered cove of the exterior botanical garden and Jubilee shot an endearing look at Paige. "Just hold tough, girl. You'll see. New York can be home, too."

March 22, 20XX - 17.00 EST

X-Mansion, Danger Room

The doors to the Danger Room slid effortlessly open revealing the six new member of the X-Men, the former Generation X. They stood in a row from Everett on one end to Jono on the other, each wearing the unstable molecular uniforms from the Massachusetts Academy. Jubilee, second from the right, pulled her hair back gently and tugged softly on the red spandex. She knew that as long as she and the rest of the Gen X-ers wore their old uniforms they would always be just that, Gen X-ers.

Their stark red clashed strongly with the silver-washed stainless steel walls of the Danger Room and stood out glaringly opposite the chic black of the X-Men who were standing before them. Where each and every one of the Gen X-ers stood in identical uniforms, the X-Men were more a variation on a theme. Each was black and X-Man-gold but from there the similarities were small. For instance, Remy "Gambit" LeBeau stood to one side in his trademark brown trench coat above a black uniform crisscrossed with gold belts across his chest, one around his waist, and one on his upper right thigh; you could never have too much ammo, Gambit had told her once. To the other end of the line up stood Kurt "Nightcrawler" Wagner wearing a black leather skin and fitted white gloves and boots with a golden vest. A pair of wicked Turkish yataghan swords sat crossed behind his shoulders.

For a moment X-Men and Gen X-ers stared each other down and then Cyclops spoke. "You all are here for a reason. There is a war brewing and we have to be sure that the lot of you are equipped to face it." He scanned up and down the line up. "You'll test independently with one of us. If you pass... There'll be a future for you here."

A line of shock rippled up the Gen X-ers. "If... We pass?" Ev seemed unsure of exactly what was going on but Jubilee could feel her heart sinking. "What do you mean, if we pass?" the Gen X leader asked stepping forward.

"We can't allow you in incapable. If you can't pass this session, then you go into training and your inclusion with the X-Men will be delayed."

Ev snarled at Cyclops. "We can handle anything you can throw at us!"

"Together, I've no doubt. However, as X-Men you will work independently of each other, so we have to be certain each of you are prepared." Cyclops replied evenly. He waved down the line at the five other X-Men surrounding him. "These will be individual tests against an assigned opponent. You don't have to win, but you do have to hold your own. If you pass, you get admission and graduate to black."

Paige seemed unsteady on her feet beside Jubilee and Ev seemed more than his fair share of pissed. Jubilee could understand their reluctance. This was the final exam of all final exams. Everything they had learned under Banshee and the White Queen was up for inspection and the fear that they wouldn't measure up to the illustrious X-Men standards was high. It was do or die time, make it or break it time and Jubilee was terrified.


End file.
